I am sharing the story of #MyFirstJob. Joining the conversation with Llamau to raise awareness of the growing need for more employment opportunities for young people in Wales. General Assistant may sound a bit boring… a bit general, a bit assistanty. But do you know what, that was what made #MyFirstJob the best. I was…
Author: rachelgwenllian
positively viral
It’s perhaps unusual at a time of a global pandemic to hear that something going viral is a positive thing. But that’s exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago. As many of us are, I am trying to juggle work commitments, developing a new business, and home-schooling two young children. And blimey, it’s a…
what is our North Star?
Ken Christison captured these glorious star trails around Polaris, the North Star. The North Star, or Polaris, is famous for holding nearly still while the entire northern sky moves around it. I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. There’s been a lot more debate and discussion recently about what…
why we need to create a national wellness system to work alongside our NHS
During this global pandemic, it has been brought into focus very strikingly that whilst we’re all weathering the same storm, we’re not all in the same the boat. In November 2019, I wrote an article for the Western Mail calling for a National Wellness System to sit alongside the NHS in Wales. A reconceptualisation of…
connecting the dots
With two young (active and sparky) children, home schooling, developing a business, delivering on commissioned work, domestic chores, keeping fit, singing in a choir (albeit it virtually at the moment), and voluntary roles as a Parent Governor at our children’s primary school, a Non-Executive Director of the EAS' Company Board, and running Doers and Improvers…
social research is for you!
I was recently asked the question, what would you say to encourage a young person today considering a social research career? Well, this is what I said...
book clubs – much more than reading
I love books. I love reading. And I love acquiring books. I have shelves and piles of them… both read and unread. I always feel guilty about my unread books… they sit there, yearning to be opened, to tell me their ideas, their wisdoms. Their voices unheard. I have come to learn that I am…
turning Wales into a compassionate nation
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.Maya Angelou There is a growing recognition of the importance of kindness, compassion, human connection and relationships for both individual and societal well-being. So, if this is the case, then why…
why read books
Inspired by this year's Hay Festival, and particularly Elif Shafak, Paul Boateng, Bettany Hughes and Edmund de Waal, I have created a list of why we should read books.